"For the Hajj are the months well known. If any one undertakes that duty therein, let there be no obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling in the Hajj: And whatever good ye do, (be sure) God knoweth it. And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best of provision is right conduct. So fear Me, O ye that are wise" Qur'an 2:197.
Prophet Ibrahim (AS) about five thousand years ago felt a deep dismay at the idolatry of his people. The gods were manufactured by man from wood, stone or ivory. They could not possibly defend their worshippers in their hour of need nor could they create man. This led Ibrahim (AS) to approach the idea of God (Allah) from a rational point of view.
Nothing appealed to the rational mind of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). He was in search of a lord who was eternally besought of all. It was a long process of intuitional search and intellection. He perceived the light after all. Thus he established the efficacy of intellect and mediation as a means to the discovery of the absolute.
This earned for him the elevated status of a Hanif - one who is upright, intellectually honest, and seeks the eternal truth. He was rewarded richly for this.
His prayer that small peaceful town should grow round the structure of Ka'aba, the House of Allah, which he reconstructed as a result of revelation, and where pilgrims from all over should come for an inner light, had obviously been granted. In fact, the pilgrimage to Ka'aba was made a tenet of Islam and the ceremonies were made obligatory for the faithful. Hajj, in which several Ibrahimic traditions are performed, has become a part of the Islamic worship. It is a pointer to the universality of Islam.
A multipurpose injunction
For a Muslim, Hajj is an opportunity for Taubah and to be a Momin. A Momin is one who has deep faith in Islam. Hajj is a multipurpose divine injunction. It may be performed only once in a life time. Like all other forms of prayers it demands an external as well as an internal loyalty to Him.
While the external performances (physical ceremonies and oral recitations) and with the pilgrimage in a few days its spiritual aspects continue for the rest of life. The spiritual contents of Hajj include not only the pre-Hajj attitude, the rites and symbolic expressions of it at Makkah, Mina, Arafat and Mazdalifa but the post-Hajj effects of Hajj is an experience to be maintained. It has to be made real in all our ways of living.
Hajj can be a living Hajj only if it overflows the boundaries of Haram. It is a pursuit for shaping and reshaping our life in virtue. It is a craving of the soul in quest of the light of Allah, the enhanced consciousness of the presence of the divine, the illumination in the dark areas of our mind.
Hajj is a physical as well as a spiritual march. Allah is the focus of all our spiritual aspirations and Hajj is an answer to His call. Makkah is the cradle of Islam. For a Muslim all roads lead to Makkah.
The spiritually immature are content with the symbolic Hajj and do not experience the spiritual move, like a magnet the Ka'aba attracts the magnetisable from its mixture with the non-magnetisable. An awareness of a higher destiny touches the mind it does not come to an individual of itself.
A process of preparation precedes it. The breakthrough into the transcendental realisms happens after a ceaseless struggle and is a victory of the self over the lower-self.
THE TWO ASPECTS:
The ceremonial part is not of any lower order. It is necessary operational counter part of the spiritual. The two aspects are supplementary and reinforce each other.
Body is the conduct of the mind it is not an alien reality, because the outer expressions of Hajj are not superposed on the inner. The whole man is in action during any form of prayer. The aspects of Hajj therefore cannot be isolated except for purposes of description.
Hajj is an impact on the mind, which is the centre of both positive and negative forces, the freedom gifted to it can help towards spiritual maturity or towards spiritual degeneration. Conceit is the greatest stumbling block in the path of spiritual march.
It starts with a charming desire for self glorification. The pride of wealth, of power, of intellect or of piety deprives one of the capacities for spiritual growth. Self advertisement devalues the self. The greater the outward show the grater is the inner poverty.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came as the last Prophet of Islam. He banished 360 god-lets from inside the sacred house of the lord. Many pilgrims take their own idols to the very gates of the Ka'aba. They crown their idols instead of dethroning them.
"Hast then seen him who maketh his desire his god, and Allah sendeth him astray knowing him (as such) and sealeth up his hearing and his heart (understanding) and settleth on his sight a covering? Then who will lead him after Allah (Hath condemned him) will ye not then heed". Q.45:23
WARNING AGAINST CONCEIT:
Conceit with a pretentious outwardness stealthily corrodes and ultimately vitiates the personality. A vanishing regard for moral values sets in. The pathological mind feels a hunger for the title of a Hajj. The living Hajj is frozen down to a mere mechanical ritual.
The Qur'an which is anxious to build human character on the basis of similarity warns over and over again against conceit and vain gloriousness. Thus, "lo: Allah loveth not such as proud and boastful". Q.4:36
"Assuredly Allah knoweth that which they keep hidden and that which they proclaim. Lo: He loveth not the proud. Q.16:23
"And walk not on the earth with insolence. Lo: Thou can'st not rend the earth nor can'st stretch to the height of the hills. Of all such things the evil is hateful in the sight of the Lord?" Q.17:37-38
Conceit is bad because the afflicted person not only feels himself superior to others but there is an inward scorn against all those whom he regards as inferior. Arrogance breeds hatred of others.
"And on the day of resurrection thou (Muhammad) seest those who lied concerning Allah with their faces blackened. Is not the home of scorners in Hell"? Q.39:60 it is said (unto them), enter ye the gates of hell to dwell therein. Thus hopeless is the journey's end of the arrogant". Q.40:72
"Thus doth Allah seal up the heart of every arrogant haughty person. Q.40:35
The Qur'an narrates the story of Pharoah who was intoxicated with power and pride and this led him to his ultimate ruin.
"Hast thou not seen those who praise themselves for purity? Nay-but Allah purifieth whom he wills. But never will they fail to receive justice. Q.4:49
HUMILITY:
Al-Qur'an emphasises humility. Thus a Haji who takes pleasure in arrogant ostentation and exhibition of his piety is a victim of ruinous pride and gains only negatively for this Hajj.
"LO: ALLAH LOVETH NOT SUCH AS ARE PROUD AND BOASTFUL". Q.4:36
Humility then is the protective weapon to face the onslaught of conceit. The challenge of pretended self righteousness can be met with only by cultivating a humble mind. It is a prolonged struggle. It will pronounce the final issue of the mission and that of the Haji.
Hajj is a life in Tawhid. It involves duties to the self, duties to the society and duties to Allah. In one's daily business one tends to go out of step with the real life. Excessive self seeking debacles higher value imperceptibly. The vision sees the self only. Questionable conduct corrodes spirituality a monstrosity of character may sprout out. Godliness and fellow feeling go out of focus. Destiny is distorted by a faulty life. This is termed in Qur'an as sealing of the mind.
"Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom". Q.2:7
BARRIERS OF SELF:
Hajj is an occasion to cross the barriers of the self. Umra is individual while Hajj is a collective phenomenon. Man at this stage of development is profoundly ignorant of the powers of collective mind. Congregational prayers are a force. Hajj maximises our sympathies. The object fails if it is merely a crowding together of men. The will for Hajj is the starting point for the pilgrim. Islam emphasises the idea that the most readily acceptable offer to Allah is a clean mind in a clean body.
The Hajj is expected to change his thought system and adopt piety. The resolve should be to maintain the Hajj attitude in life through reconditioning of the mind. The: 'niyyat' should be a guard against any relapse into a lower level of the soul in which case it would be a losing bargain. Hajj is an achievement, under conditions of humility and a desire of service to mankind in all situation of life.
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